Tile installation layout guide and method of use

ABSTRACT

A template for installing tile on a vertical or horizontal surface that includes a substrate having a plurality of lines printed on said substrate wherein said lines are configured to substantially replicate the actual size of at least two tiles and a width of grout adjacent said tiles. The template may be a stand-alone layout guide, or may also be configured to be applied to the horizontal or vertical surface using grout or mastic so that a user can replicate a pattern by applying the tile directly to the layout guide. A method for installing tile using the template including applying a first layer of adhesive upon a surface, applying the template over the first layer of adhesive, applying a second layer of adhesive directly to a tile; and applying the buttered tile directly its corresponding location on the template.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/657,301 filed Jun. 8, 2012.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a tile layout planning and designing system for flooring, walls, and other related projects.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Planning and designing a tile layout are important to the success of a tile installation project. The planning and designing steps often incorporate determining color combinations, sizes and types of tile; however, the layout and execution of the tile pattern during installation is the most critical component to a professional looking project. To be successful, each project must have a precise, accurate, and detailed layout. Experienced installers and do-it-yourself'ers currently use traditional tools for laying out tile jobs including: a level, a square, a chalk line, measuring tape, the actual tile pieces, and a “jury stick” or “story stick.” The “story stick” is commonly a piece of one inch by two inch (1″×2″) nominal lumber having a designated length.

Traditionally, when installing tile for a floor, perpendicular chalk lines are established on the floor near the center of the floor/wall and checked for square. The tile is laid out on the floor the length and width of the room along the chalk lines with space in-between for grout lines to make sure that the tile layout balances the room. The rows of dry-laid tile may need to be adjusted in both directions to make sure the layout and pattern include an evenly spaced, balanced and accurate pattern. This would require adjusting the position and maintaining the spacing between each tile individually.

When installing tile on a wall, the actual tiles often cannot be laid out upon the wall without using any adhesive, so often the tile is laid out on the floor, providing spaces between the tiles for the grout lines, and each tile and grout line is subsequently accurately marked upon a “story stick” which acts a guide to transfer the location of the tiles on the floor to a series of the marks on the wall. If a square tile is used, only one “story stick” is required to layout the tile in both the horizontal and vertical directions. If the tile is rectangular, however, then two “story sticks” are required; one to transfer the vertical tile spacing and one to transfer the horizontal tile spacing.

There are many shortcomings with the traditional method including: (1) if the project includes (a) tile in an angular orientation, (b) specially shaped cut tiles, or (c) tiles of different sizes, then the “story stick” will not be able to be used to accurately duplicate the pattern; (2) if the project requires a border or trim work in combination with the tile, then additional time and effort is required to dry layout the trim tiles with the appropriate spacing and then accurately marked on the story stick; (3) the installer must keep in mind the location of fixtures, vanities, toilets, wall plates, outlets to determine if they have an effect on the final tile project and laying out only one row in each direction doesn't accomplish this; (4) time and effort of this prior layout may not be completely accurate which may result in having to re-do the layout or, worse, have the tile installed incorrectly; and (5) the traditional methods do not provide a comprehensive view of how to best layout the tiles and, thus, the resulting job could look poorly when finally installed. Moreover, the locations of multiple fixtures in a room or on a wall may not be completely accurate and, therefore, have an adverse effect on the final installation.

Thus, there is a substantial need in the art for a tile installation template and method for using the template that significantly improves the installer's ability to determine the optimal layout of more simple patterns and to have a guide for installing and creating more complex tile patterns for installing tile on floors, wall, counters, backsplashes, or other application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A template for installing tile on a vertical or horizontal surface that includes a substrate having a plurality of lines printed on said substrate wherein said lines are configured to substantially replicate the actual size of at least two tiles and a width of grout adjacent said tiles. The template may replicate one row of tile wherein two templates may be orientated perpendicularly to determine the tile layout an entire horizontal or vertical surface. The template may be multiple tiles wide and multiple tiles high and include ornate tile patterns in the smallest repeatable unit. Multiple units may be used together to layout walls, floors, countertops or other horizontal or vertical surface. The template may be a stand-alone layout guide that is laid out individually and the user marks the position of the tile and removes the template prior to applying thin-set grout or mastic. Alternatively, the present template may also be configured to be applied to the horizontal or vertical surface using grout or mastic so that a user can replicate a pattern by applying the tile directly to the layout guide. A method for installing tile using the layout guide including applying a first layer of adhesive upon a surface, applying a template over the first layer of adhesive, applying a second layer of adhesive directly to a tile; and applying the buttered tile directly its corresponding location on the template.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying drawings form a part of the specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith, in which like reference numerals are employed to indicate like or similar parts in the various views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the tile installation template in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention including the tile installation template of FIG. 1 on a floor in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention including the tile installation template of FIG. 1 on a wall in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention including the tile installation template of FIG. 1 on a wall in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 3C is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention including the tile installation template of FIG. 1 and accent and trim tiles on a wall in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a front view of an embodiment of the tile installation template in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 5A is a front view of one embodiment a tile installation template in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 5B is a front view of another embodiment a tile installation template in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 5C is a front view of another embodiment a tile installation template in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 5D is a front view of another embodiment a tile installation template in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a front view of another embodiment of the tile installation template in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the embodiment of the tile installation template of FIG. 6 cut along the line 7-7; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the tile installation template of FIG. 1 to layout tile on a counter top in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description of the invention references the accompanying drawing figures that illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments may be utilized and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The present invention is defined by the appended claims and, therefore, the description is not to be taken in a limiting sense and shall not limit the scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention is directed toward a template 10 for laying out tile and a method of installing tile in a commercial or residential application using the template. Template 10 is a printed piece of paper or other membrane that includes at least a first row 12 of tiles 14 printed thereon and horizontal grout lines 16 and vertical grout lines 18 also printed thereon. A user may customize template 10 to include printed tile 14 that exactly match the actual size of the tile and the actual thickness of grout lines that are planned to be used. Thus, template 10 exactly matches the installed tile dimensions and layout.

Template 10 is configured to reflect the actual size of the tile. For example, ceramic tile is subject to extreme heat during manufacturing and, as a result, the final size may vary due to shrinkage. Embodiments of template 10 may be configured for a user to enter the type, nominal size, and manufacturer of the tile, and the actual size of the tile is printed on template 10. Also, an installer may select the width of the grout joint desired. Stone tile may also be incorporated into template 10. Stone tile is a natural product and sold in differing sizes. Stone tile is sold in actual size, usually having very little variance in dimension. Template 10 may be configured to replicate the exact size of stone and ceramic tile. Template 10 may also be configured to include combinations of ceramic and natural stone tiles in actual size. Embodiments of template 10 of the present invention may incorporate common grout joints ranging from 0.125″ to 0.375″ inches. However, template 10 may also be configured to incorporate and represent non-standard grout widths that may be selected by a designer or installer.

As shown in FIG. 1, one embodiment of the present invention includes a strip having a width of one tile and a length of twelve tiles. The width and length of the template may be any dimension achievable by commercial printing methods. For example, common widths are up to four feet (4′) or forty eight inches (48″) and common lengths may be up to twenty feet (20′). The embodiment of template 10 in FIG. 1 may be used by a user to give a visual effect of how the actual tile will look before it is installed, and provides a means of laying out the project. As such, a person tiling a floor may lay out the tile along the length or width of the floor, wall, or counter to ensure that the tiles are aesthetically distributed throughout the width and length of the room.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A-3C, a second template 20 may be overlapped substantially perpendicularly with the first template 10 and the installer may then see how the entire pattern will fall in the room and adjust the location of the templates such that an optimal or desired layout is obtained. FIG. 2 illustrates a second template 20 and a third template 22 laid out on a floor 24 such that the position of printed tiles 14 across the entire length and width of floor 24 as well as how the actual tile will interact with a fixture 26 such as toilet 26.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate second template 20, that may be configured along with template 10 and second template 20 to layout tile pattern on a wall 28 of shower 30. FIG. 3C illustrates how first template 10 and second template 20 may be configured to determine the tile layout on the wall 28 of a shower 30 wherein a border tile 21 and a decorative tile 25 are incorporated into the pattern. In these embodiments, having first template 10 and second template 20 in a substantially perpendicular orientation provides the installer to visualize the layout and position of all of the finished tiles in actual size.

FIG. 4 includes another embodiment of a template 10′ of the present invention. Template 10′ includes a width such that multiple rows of tile are represented thereon. Template 10′ may be used by an installer as a guide for more complex patterns and may be sized having a length L₄ and a width W₄ to match the extents of the height of the desired tile pattern on the wall and/or a width matching that of the portion of wall 28 to be tiled. Template 10′ of FIG. 4 includes first row 12, a second row 32, a third row 34 and a fourth row 36 of printed tiles 14 thereon. Template 10′ further includes an accent row 38 of diagonally orientated whole tiles 40, half tiles 42, and border tiles 44. Template 10′ illustrates for the installer the required tiles for the smallest repeatable unit of the tile pattern conveyed therein. Moreover, if template 10′ is wider than the wall to be tiled, it may be folded at the wall intersection, for example along fold line 46.

Another embodiment of a template 10″ of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 5A-D. Wherein complex tile patterns may be created on one template 10″. The template 10″ may be used to both to layout and locate the tile pattern during layout and because template 10″ is to exact scale, template 10″ may also be used as a template to cut all of the individual pieces 48 required to make the pattern. This is of enormous value to installers, particularly do-it yourself'ers.

In use, template 10 may be used to layout tiles on a floor as shown in FIG. 2. To layout tile on a horizontal or vertical surface, a plan is developed for the project that conceptualizes how to achieve the desired layout from start to finish. An important step is to establish a good layout for the tiling project that is consistently square and balanced throughout. Template 10 helps the installer accomplish a well-planned layout that is easy to use. Installers should check template 10 to verify that the printed tiles 14 on template 10 closely match the actual size of the tile being installed. An installer may, during the layout of a floor project using template 10, look for the prominent wall or the most visible portion of the floor 24 and start there. Next, an installer may snap a chalk line 90 degrees on floor 24 from the center of the prominent wall to the opposite wall. The installer may use a tape measure to find the center of this line and snap a chalk line perpendicular to the first line and between the other two opposing walls. Template 10 may be laid along the chalk line wherein the excess length may extend up the opposing walls. Template 10 may be adjusted until the two tiles at each wall intersection are substantially the same size. The excess material at each end of template 10 may be folded under or cut off with scissors, but many installers leave enough extra material left at each end for adjustments.

To further assist the layout of a tile project, the installer may lay a second template 20 along the second line that is perpendicular to the first template 10 making sure that it overlaps perfectly, tile over tile as shown in FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B. Template 20 may then be taped to first template 10. The intersecting templates 10 and 20 should be perfectly square and at right angles to each other, and may be double checked with conventional tools to be sure. An installer may cut or fold the ends of second template 20 to the opposite walls. Further, an installer may adjust the location of the intersecting templates 10 and 20 in all four directions to balance the printed tile 14 within the room. Fixtures 26, such as doorways, cabinets, bathtub or toilets may also be considered at this time. To effectively layout how the floor accommodates fixtures, a third template 22 may be added across the first strip in the same manner as the second as shown in FIG. 2 and laid over or abutted up to a fixture 26 adjusting and cutting third template 22 as required. Also in this manner, third template 22 may be configured to overlap a flange opening of toilet 26 once toilet 26 is removed for tile installation. An installer may add any number of templates desired to be comfortable with the layout as long as they are configured to be perpendicular to first template 10 and parallel to the other added templates 20 and 22 or parallel to template 10. Once the templates 10, 20 and 22 are adjusted and the layout is where the installer desires, templates 10, 20 and 22 may be taped down to floor 24 and the installer may carefully mark the layout on floor 24. Templates 10, 20, and 22 may also be used as a template for cutting the actual tiles required to be cut at the edges of the floor, at fixtures, or corners due to the layout while installing the tile.

Now referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, installing ceramic tile on adjoining walls 28 may be difficult. The grout lines must line up horizontally and vertically throughout. An installer may start with the most prominent wall, the one most visible and make the edges symmetrical. Cut tiles should be applied in less conspicuous areas such as in corners where they meet the adjoining walls, as in a shower 30. Each wall requires a separate layout, and must be uniform with the rest of the project. This is where templates 10 and 20 are a very valuable tool. Prior to using templates 10 or 20, an installer should double check to make sure the printed tiles 14 and grout lines 16 and 18 in templates 10 and 20 closely match the actual tile to be installed. The installer should establish a vertical plumb line in the center of the prominent wall using a level and take several measurements from the plumb line into the corners, taking into consideration if the adjoining walls are plumb.

A frequent mistake made by installers is to assume the floor, tub, or shower base are level and a level should be used to find the lowest point. An installer may place template 10 on wall 28 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, starting from the lowest point up to the highest point to be tiled to balance the tile from top to bottom. Template 10 may be adjusted downward if needed, but it should not be adjusted such that less than half of a full tile will be installed at the bottom. There should be a consistent gap at the bottom of the tile pattern for caulking. If the tile will be installed from floor to ceiling, use of template 10 is a great advantage because a great tile job is easily spoiled if less than one half inch or a sliver width is left to fill near the ceiling and template 10 may be used to determine if the layout provides this undesirable circumstance. If you are including any horizontal trim tiles, they should also be incorporated into the vertical layout. Once the vertical layout is set, template 10 may be temporarily attached to the wall with tape or push pins.

Next, a grout line or the corner of a tile about half way up template 10 is chosen and marked with a pencil. Using a level, a horizontal line is established from the mark and is continued onto adjoining walls. Template 10 may be moved from the lowest point of floor 24 or shower 30 to the center of the wall along the established vertical plumb line wherein the pencil mark on template 10 is lined up with the established horizontal level line. Fold under any excess from template 10. Now, second template 20 may be used to layout the horizontal tiles on wall 28. Measure the width of the wall and transfer this measurement to second template 20. The length of second template 20 should be such that the excess at the ends of second template 20 are folded under and tiles should be substantially the same size at each end. Preferable results are obtained when the end tiles are more than half the width of a full tile.

To layout the tiles, second template 20 is placed over the vertical template 10, along the horizontal line and into both corners as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Second template 20 may be adjusted so that the vertical plumb line may either be in the center of a grout line or in the middle of a full tile. Temporarily attach second template 20 directly to wall 28 with tape or push pins. At this point the vertical and horizontal positioning of the tile layout is established. To better establish the exact layout of the tile, bring template 10 and template 20 together to overlap near the middle of the wall moving each strip in the same plane. In other words, move the vertical strip only left or right and move the horizontal strip only up or down in order to line up perfectly, tile-over-tile, and then tape the two strips together as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. First template 10 and second template 20 are substantially square and at right angles to each other and the installer may double check using known instruments. An installer may measure the horizontal width on adjoining walls using a third horizontal strip 22. Start on one wall then reverse the same printed strip and use it to mark the opposite wall. The width of any edge trim piece, usually a bull nose, should also be considered along with the thickness of real tile in adjoining corners. The walls are marked to show the location of the tile to be laid. An installer may establish as many horizontal and vertical lines as needed or desired to effectuate the installation of the tile. Remove the taped templates 10, 20, and 22 and set aside for reference. The installation process is easier when the installer may see how the tile will look before and during installation of the actual tile.

FIGS. 3C and 4 include adapting template 10 to account for an accent row border tiles 21 or accent tiles 25 wherein a full printed tile 14 is positioned above and below the accent row. FIG. 3C illustrates where the template 10 may be cut and placed on either side of the accent row. FIG. 4 incorporates the accent tiles 21 and 25 into a larger, repeatable template. Another embodiment of the present invention include templates 10, 10′, 10″, 20 and 30 being configured to be adhered to floor 24 or wall 28 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. This embodiment is particularly useful for complex tile patterns. For example, these templates providing a unit of a repeatable wall pattern may be adhered to floor 24 or wall 28 by applying a thin base layer of adhesive 50 to the floor 24 or wall 28 and laying the templates 10, 10′, 10″, 20 or 30 on top of the thin layer of adhesive 50 and smoothing the templates to the floor 24 or wall 28. The adhesive 50 may be mastic, thinset mortar, or any other adhesive now known or hereafter developed to adhere tile to a surface. Then, the installer may apply the requisite thickness layer of thinset or mastic 52 on actual tile 100 corresponding and cut to its printed tile shape 14, 21, 25, 40, 42, or 44, and then apply actual tile 100 corresponding to the printed tile 14, 21, 25, 40, 42, or 44 directly on the template matching the location designated by the templates. By cutting actual tile 100 to match the shape of printed tile 21, 25, 40, 42, or 44 on the template and placing the actual tile 100 directly upon the templates, the user easily may replicate the pattern present printed on the templates. In order to more easily be implemented into this embodiment, one embodiment of the templates may be printed on a substrate comprising one of: perforated paper, a woven material that allows the mastic layers to bond through the substrate, a material that dissolves shortly after contact with a solvent used in the mastic, and water soluble material to dissolve shortly after contact with the cementitious mortar or grout.

There are many applications for templates 10, 10′, 10″, 20 and/or 30 of the present invention using substantially the same steps as described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, templates 10, 20, and 22 may also be used with templates 54, 56, and 58 to layout tile for a countertop 60 that may or may not include one or more sink openings 62 formed therein. Since countertop 60 is so visible, special care should be taken to make it look good and the use of additional templates 54, 56, and 58 help the installer achieve a thorough layout. For best results, pick out tile 40 that is uniform in size and thickness and prepare a good underlayment. Using templates 10, 20, 22, 30, 54, 56 and 58 makes it simple and easy.

An installer may verify that the printed tile 14 substantially matches the actual tile 100 to make sure template 10 is accurate. Most countertops 60 have a backsplash or at least trim that meets the back wall of the countertop 60. One or more cut tiles 42 may be placed in the back and backsplash tiles are placed above them leaving a small gap for grout or caulking. A preformed edge trim 64, bull nose, or cut tile may be used to cover the front edge 65 of counter 60. The installer may locate the center of the front edge 65 of counter 60 and, using a square, mark a line down the middle perpendicular to the front edge. Template 10 may be placed on top 66 of counter 60 along the front edge 65 from end to end. If the installer is using a cut front edge tile, extend template 10 out over the edge 65 enough to overlap the actual tile front edge 65 you will install. If you are using preformed edge trim 64, place one on the edge at each end, and lay template 10 to meet both edge tiles, including the width of grout line 18. Fold the excess printed tiles 14 of template 10 back under or cut off the excess with scissors keeping enough extra material for any adjustments. The best appearance may be achieved by having cut tiles that are more than half the width of a full tile at each end. The end tiles should be substantially symmetrical, and the middle of a printed grout line 16 or the middle of a printed tile 14 of template 10 should line up with the center of the countertop 60 depending upon the length of the counter. After template 10 is placed where desired, it may be taped or pinned to countertop 60.

Lay template 20 over the center printed tile 14 of template 10 and perpendicular thereto and tape it to the back of the countertop as shown in FIG. 8. Once templates 10 and 20 overlap substantially exactly, tile-over-tile, tape template 10 and 20 together. Template 10 should be perfectly square in relation to template 20, and the installer may verify their relative position by using known tools in the art. It may be necessary to readjust the templates 10 and 20 if needed to fine-tune the layout. Once a desired layout and position of templates 10 and 20 have been met, tape both strips of templates 10 and 20 in place.

In a similar manner, additional templates 22, 54, 56, and 58 on either side of sink openings 62 may be placed wherein an installer would make sure templates 22, 54, 56, and 58 are parallel as shown in FIG. 8. Another template (not shown) could be added across the back, over the last full tiles to tie everything together. An installer may find it useful to cut the templates 22, 54, 56 and 58 surrounding where they overlap sink opening 60 and then the installer may use cut tiles 68 as a template for cutting the actual tiles 42 that will surround sink openings 62. After the layout is done, mark on the substrate where the actual tile is to be laid. In one embodiment, the installer may remove the templates 10, 20, 22, 54, 56, and 58 and keep them taped together for reference. In another embodiment, as described above, the templates may be adhered to the counter using thin-set mortar or mastic and the installer may butter each actual tile 40, 42, 44, 48, or 100 and adhere each actual tile 40, 42, 44, 48, or 100 exactly over the positions indicated by the templates 10, 20, 22, 54, 56, and 58.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with the other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense. 

I claim:
 1. A template for installing tile comprising: a substrate; and a plurality of lines printed on said substrate wherein said lines are configured to substantially replicate the actual size of at least two tiles and a width of grout adjacent said tiles.
 2. The template of claim 1 wherein said template replicates a pattern of tiles that includes at least two said tiles in a length direction.
 3. The template of claim 1 wherein said template replicates a pattern of tiles that includes at least two said tiles in a width direction.
 4. The template of claim 1 wherein the template is of a material that may be adhered directly a surface using a first layer of an adhesive.
 5. The template of claim 4 wherein a second layer of the adhesive is applied to the back of a tile and the template allows the second layer of the adhesive to mix with the first layer of the adhesive.
 6. The template of claim 4 wherein the substrate is one of: perforated paper, a woven material that allows the adhesive to bond through the substrate, a material that dissolves shortly after contact with the adhesive.
 7. A method for installing tile comprising: applying a first layer of adhesive upon a surface; applying a template to said first layer of adhesive, said template comprising a substrate and a plurality of lines printed thereon wherein said lines are configured to substantially replicate the actual size of at least two tiles and a width of grout adjacent said tiles; applying a second layer of adhesive directly to a tile; and coupling said tile to said template.
 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising laying out the position of the tile on a surface using the template. 